


Better Than You

by youheldyourbreath



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-18 16:10:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8167985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youheldyourbreath/pseuds/youheldyourbreath
Summary: Bruce and Selina fall into one another at last.  But another boy, one who shares Bruce Wayne's face, decides he wants to take Bruce's place.





	1. Peep Show

Selina Kyle.

It was a magical name.  It had a feline elegance that matched its owner.  It moved in his mouth in the same way that she slipped through the streets: precise and sly.  

He said her name over and over again.  Selina Kyle.  Selina Kyle.  Selina.

The red headed girl, the one who had a screeched at him and called him Bruce Wayne, was gone now.  He hadn't seen her since the day she had run away from him and Selina Kyle, his Selina Kyle as he had decided she would be, was saddened by her absence.  He could tell.  She called out the redhead's name in her sleep.  Ivy.  

He wanted to hold her.  He had seen other couples, normal people without abilities like he was accustomed to in Indian Hill, engage in such simple comforts.  A hug, a kiss, a reassuring hand.  These were all ways to help make the sad happy again.  He had seen it.  But he was afraid to reach out to his Selina.  She was fragile still and that Bruce Wayne, the boy with his face, seemed to be the one who was allowed to comfort her in such ways.

The boy with no name had seen them.

A man named Jim Gordon had told Bruce about the Ivy girl's disappearance and Bruce had found his Selina.  From a window he watched that first night, when his Selina and the boy with his face collided into each other.  

He remembered.

His Selina was crying.  She laid in her bed and silently let tear after tear slide down her face.  It was almost beautiful to him, the strength of her silent grieving.  

And then that Bruce happened.  

He picked Selina's lock and burst into her home.  He looked frantic, like he had just been in a fight.  His face had a long gash that had blood dripping down his face like a weeping painting.  

His Selina sat up from her bed and pulled a gun on the boy, her eyes wild.  He remembered the surge of happiness he felt at the thought that his Selina would end his face stealer's life.  Instead, her eyes cleared and she said his name hopelessly, "Bruce?"

The gun clattered to the ground.  Bruce rushed to her bedside as soon as Selina let out another sob.  His long arms, arms that were identical to his own, got to hold Selina. He could almost imagine how it felt.

She clung to Bruce's shirt and cried until she seemingly could not cry anymore.  The whole while he was a paragon of strength.  A silent pillar for her to collapse on. 

When she was all cried out, she hiccuped, "What are you doing here?"

"Jim," Bruce replied, "He told me about Ivy.  He heard from Penguin who heard from Butch.  I'm so sorry."

"I-" He was wrong.  She could cry more.  And so she did.  The Bruce boy held her longer, almost as if he was shielding her vulnerability from the rest of the world.  

Bruce hushed her and rocked her back and forth in his arms.  "I'm so sorry, Selina."

"It's my fault," her voice squeaked.  "She was following me.  I'm the reason she's dead."

"No," Bruce said with a fierceness that made the no named boy lean in closer to the window.  He spoke with authority.  He wondered if he could command a room the way that Bruce boy could.  "No, that was Fish, not you."

Selina scoffed meanly at him.  She pulled herself out of his arms and the no named boy was thrilled.  He wanted them to part.  To never touch again.  "I said it was my fault."  The separation was only temporary.  That was when she noticed the boy's cut.  Long and ugly down his face.  "Bruce," she scooted closer to him and touched his face, "Bruce what happened?" 

He laughed in a way that confused the no named boy, "I was investigating Wayne Enterprises.  They roughed me up a fair bit."

"You idiot," she replied.  The words were harsh but she almost sounded fond.  It confused him.  "When did they let you go?"

"Not long before I got here.  I got the voicemail from Jim as soon as I escaped.  Came right here."

Selina slid off the bed and went for a box.  The no named boy ducked to get a better look in the warm room.  "So," she mused, "I suppose I'll have to patch you up.  Again."

"It seems that way," he smiled.  The no named boy hated him for getting to smile at his Selina like that.  

The next ten minutes he watched them as they silently sat together.  She stitched the gash along his face.  When she cut the string and turned away to put the materials away, Bruce grabbed for her hand.  

There words were so soft the no named boy had to look away and press his ear to the window.  He couldn't see their faces but their voices were so vividly feeling that he could almost see them staring at one another intensely.  

"Thank you."

"Don't make a habit of getting cut up, okay?"

"Selina?"

"Bruce?"

"It's, it's good to see you."

"Oh."

The no named boy pressed his face more intently against the window.  But no more words came through the air.  In confusion, he pulled away to look through the window, to find out why the voices had stopped.  

Their mouths were intensely searching one another, desperate.  The no named boy wanted to scream but he could not find the words.  It was surreal.  The boy had his face. He could almost imagine it was him, the one who was holding her face and kissing her so thoroughly.  

They kissed so sure, like it had been coming for quite some time, this union.  

And he stayed there that night, watching them kiss.  The Bruce boy and his Selina fumbled through whatever came next.  When things became too overwhelming for them they laughed between themselves at a joke the no named boy did not understand.  The laughter was so happy.  

When it was over the laid side by side and spoke too lowly for him to hear.  All he could glean from what he saw was pure joy.  Almost refuge.  

His Selina's smile warmed his heart.  

Since that night the Bruce boy visited Selina often.  They did causal comfort things like hugging and hand holding and kissing.  The things he saw people do on the street.  But in her home they did things he did not see other people do on the street.  

Things he wanted to do with her.  

They continued to do those things even after the girl Ivy returned.  She looked different when she came back.  More smooth and sweet.  Just more of something he couldn't put his finger on. 

And another woman, a mother, came back as well.  That person made his Selina angry. 

But Bruce acted like he was the person to fix her.  The no named boy hated him more and more as the days went by.

Until he decided to get Selina, his Selina, he had to be this boy.  They could be twins.  Identical down to their voices.  And he had watched them, he realized, enough to know how Bruce spoke and acted.  These last weeks had been a case study in all things Bruce Wayne.  

That was the day he cut his hair and decided no name was no good.  His name would be Bruce Wayne.  


	2. Shoe Tag

Selina threw a shoe at Bruce. 

Her mother had dropped back into her world and turned her whole life upside down and Bruce Wayne thought, like always, that he could fix it, fix her. Like she was some broken toy of his that with some time and money he could fix up. He had no right. No claim on her whatsoever. Elitist, self-involved little rich kid.

He ducked the shoe effortlessly, with a cool kind of smoothness that he had not possessed six months ago, and took a step toward her, “Selina, listen to me. Please.”

She yanked her other shoe off and chucked it at his head again, “No. Get out of my place, B.”

Selina wanted him to leave. The urge to forcibly kick him out, as in literally kick him out with her foot, was strong. She didn’t need him to soothe her or make her see reason. The street rat wanted to be mad because if she was furious she couldn’t give in to the hurt. Her mother didn’t want her. That much she had known for years when she had been abandoned at the narrows like an afterthought. Yet, seeing her again and being brushed off like she was nothing was more than hurtful, it was a wound. 

She wouldn’t allow Bruce to pick at the open, oozing tissue. She wanted it to scab over and heal but Bruce wanted it to bleed and then heal. 

The sixteen year old didn’t care if he had been sharing her bed, he hadn’t earned the right to stick his nose into her business. Her life was her own and she would chose who was in it. Bruce was dancing a dangerous line. One more ill-advised word and she would be tempted to throw him out forever.

“Selina,” he tried again, “I’m just trying to help.”

“I don’t want your help,” she hissed like a feral cat, “I don’t wanna talk about it. Nothing. Now get out.”

He made a face that resembled pity and she felt a scream bubble in her throat. It got caught on the bile that she was swallowing down. “Selina,” he said evenly, “It’s not like that. I wanna help.”

She reached for another object to throw at his head. She was out of shoes. Her hands found a broken lamp and she eagerly flung it a few inches from his head. He ducked with practiced ease. A slippery piece of Gotham wealthy shit. 

“Selina,” he said more forcibly, “That’s enough.” He closed the distance between them and grabbed her arms, keeping her in place. She loathed him. 

Selina snarled like a feral cat in his face, “You know if I wanted to I could get free.”

“I know.” His voice was understanding. 

“You know I could beat you to a bloody pulp, right?”  
  

“Debatable.” The corner of his mouth quirked up in an amused smile. Like a balloon, all of her anger and raged popped out of her. She deflated and what was left was an overwhelming sense of grief and sadness.

A parent was supposed to love their child. She watched normalcy pass her on the street everyday. Mothers loved their daughters and took care of them but her mother had abandoned her, left her like an forgotten piece of garbage to collect dust on the street. She didn’t know how to deal with that level of broken trust, abandonment. 

Her head dropped against Bruce’s chest. Exhaustion permeated her bones and she felt so, so tired. “Bruce?” she probed. 

There was silence and then, “I’m here.”

“I’m sorry I threw my shoes at your head,” she mumbled.

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head affectionately, “Don’t forget the lamp.”

Selina rolled her eyes and tilted her head up to look at him, “I’m not sorry about the lamp.”

“Oh no?” He smirked. His mouth brushed innocently against her own. 

Selina pulled away and flicked his nose. “No,” she scrunched up her face, “You don’t get to be cute.”

His face lit up and Selina could have throttled his stupid, rich face. “Oh, so I’m cute now?” Bruce’s chest puffed out proudly.

“No,” she countered, “You aren’t. That’s why I said you don’t get to be.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he smiled and kissed her again, longer and more thoroughly than the last. “You keep telling yourself that, Cat.”

She let him kiss her this time. There was nothing to say to him or nothing she wanted to say. Lately she had felt more and more drawn to Bruce. His company wasn’t so much a craving as a welcome addition to her life. She was a loner, a wandering animal whose need for self preservation trumped nearly every other aspect of her life. But with Bruce, she was terrified to learn that she didn’t mind when he tagged along.

Selina doubted she would ever want to give up her freedom completely. Bruce and Selina were never going to be a dynamic duo. But she could see a future where she did her own thing independent of Bruce and Bruce did his own thing independent of Selina. Al life where they weaved in and out of each other’s independent stories. Never officially one thing or another but a part of both of their lives. 

And that was what scared her. She had never envisioned her life as having another person regularly in it. The closest she had ever gotten to a steady relationship was her friendship with Ivy which was over now. She had come back different and different didn't have any room for Selina in it.

Yet her relationship with Bruce felt different than that. Not adult or tragically romantic the way the movies or books would have her believe. It was simple, quiet and unspectacular. He was there for her and she was there for him. They both wanted each other. 

If she lost that it would be a gaping absence in her life. 

That thought startled her out of their kiss. She felt Bruce’s ragged breathing against her mouth. He leaned in for another kiss with the traces of a boyish smile on his lips. With a hand to his chest, Selina stopped him, “What are we doing, Bruce?”

His eyes, still clouded with wanting, sparkled, “Kissing. I thought that was obvious.” Bruce’s mouth went for hers again.

“No, hang on,” she turned her face out of their embrace. Bruce blinked, obviously more keen to do other things, but he listened. “I mean, like, what are we doing?”

He licked his lips, which she cursed. She hated how much that one action distracted her. “You’re going to have to be more specific,” he managed.

Selina dropped her head into his chest and laughed easy, “Bruce, focus.”

“Okay, okay,” she could hear the smile in his voice, “I promise I’m listening.” He drew her away from his chest, bracing both of his hands on her shoulders. “I’m listening,” he repeated more seriously.

Selina’s eyes drifted to his hair. Her hands wove their way into his dark locks, a aversion tactic. She didn’t want to look in his eyes for too long. Bruce’s eyes were the most expressive part of his entire being. His voice was always even, his words were consistently polite and his body was rigid. Only his eyes betrayed what boiled underneath. 

“Selina,” he whispered her name. She wasn’t sure what his tone conveyed. Maybe he wanted her to kiss him or maybe he was imploring her to speak. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

“We’re sleeping together,” she said bluntly.

He flinched. “Jesus, Selina. Do you have to say it like that?”

With a devil-may-care smirk, Selina teased, “Sorry. I can say doing the nasty, porking, banging, rolling in the hay, riding out our teenage frustrations, whichever works best for you.” Bruce flinched. “I can go on.”

“Get to the point,” he urged.

“Okay, so we’re sleeping together. What does that mean? Like, for us specifically. Not what does that mean. Because I’m pretty clear on how sleeping together works in a broader sense. Like the way bodies work together.” She paused awkwardly, “Sex. Is a thing we do.” 

Bruce cocked an eyebrow, “Are you alright?”

“Just answer the question,” Selina squeaked.

The billionaire eyes flashed with something foreign. It looked like fondness but felt like something more. She could feel herself drifting closer to him in the silence. “Selina,” his voice was soft, “what do you want it to be?”

“I don’t know,” it pained her to admit it. She didn’t know what she wanted from him. Everything and nothing. They were like that, she supposed. All or nothing, black and white, Bruce and Selina. That was the way they worked, they met in the grey area between them. 

“Tonight, then,” he whispered, cupping her face and bringing her in to his mouth, “Tonight we don’t need to figure it out.” 

Selina accepted the silence and kissed him. They ignited.

He backed her into her bed and they fell onto it. Selina wiggled beneath him, her hands hungry for his bare skin. They worked and writhed his shirt off and then hers. 

Bruce’s lips drew away from Selina’s and trailed down her neck to her chest. She arched up against him, a whine ripping from her throat. Every time they did this Selina could feel herself slipping more and more into something with Bruce. Feelings mixing with the physical. 

“You little shit,” Selina chewed on her lips, “Stop playing around.”

“I like playing around with you,” Bruce growled, unhooking her bra and tossing it to the ground. His mouth was greedy and she whined which only made him more daring. Hands and tongue and teeth worked her breasts.

Selina tugged his hair, “Bruce, you gotta do something more.”

“A please would be nice,” he offered. A thwack sounded as she smacked the side of his head. “Right. Sorry. Point taken.”

Selina nearly shot back a sassy retort when Bruce did actually seem to get the point. His hands went to her jeans and unsnapped them. And the frenzy continued.

Pieces of clothes went from their bodies to the floor until they were moving together. Skin and sweat mixed. Bruce’s breathing hushed against her neck and Selina shivered. Her nails etched into his back.

Faster and faster they snapped their hips. The sounds of their bodies moving as one were drowned out by Selina’s moans and Bruce’s guttural groans. 

They climbed together until Selina shattered against him. His hands clenched at her hips as he tumbled after her. 

In the afterglow, they cuddled up together. 

After, Bruce finally spoke, “Me and you. That’s what we are. We’re us and only we need to know what that means.”

And she was surprised to find she knew exactly what that meant and that she believed him. They were Bruce and Selina and that was enough.


End file.
